Story-Related

Share

As leaders of most of the women’s religious congregations in the United States prepared for their response to the Vatican’s call for reform, their outgoing president said they would tap their collective wisdom “thoughtfully and deliberately”.

Franciscan Sister Pat Farrell was addressing the 900-strong assembly of the Leadership Conference of Women Religious in St Louis, Missouri.

The LCWR’s 1500 members represent about 80 per cent of US congregations of female religious.

The assembly is the first since the Vatican’s doctrinal assessment, which said reform was needed to ensure fidelity to Catholic teaching in areas that include abortion, euthanasia, women’s ordination and homosexuality.

Archbishop J. Peter Sartain of Seattle, who is to supervise the reform, is not attending the assembly. Mercy Sister Mary Ann Walsh, director of media relations for the US bishops’ conference, said he offered to come, but was told his presence “would not be helpful”.

In a telephone media conference before the assembly, Sister Farrell said it would work on normal business as its response to the Vatican. “We don’t want to allow this doctrinal assessment to really take over the mission and the entire agenda of our organisation because we do have other important things to be about,” she said.

Asked if a democratic vote of the membership would be taken, she said “a sense of the membership” would be determined. “Our process of discernment is typically not taking a vote,” she explained.

In a welcoming address, Archbishop Robert Carlson of St Louis praised the work of the sisters and their influence on his own life. Referring briefly to the standoff with Rome, he cited as a model the conflicts between apostles Peter and Paul in the early days of the Church. “They managed to work things out then, and I pray that you will work things out now,” he said.

In a blog post on the eve of the assembly, Cardinal Timothy Dolan, president of the US bishops’ conference, wrote “We Catholics love the Sisters!” and voiced confidence that they would survive the “examination by Rome”.

One Response to LCWR response to the Vatican will be ‘thoughtful’

I felt Cardinal Burke's comment on the nun's group: if it can't be reformed, then it doesn't have the right to continue, hasn't considered this aspect in reforming mandatory celibacy for clergy.
Melbourne nun, Sr of Charity Fabian Elliott left her footprint in the Vatican archives on the consequences years ago, with easy access maybe he should read what she had to say on that subject.
I'm not sure if these sisters are "feminists'" as there counterparts are labelled, but like them they were well and truly upright and out spoken.
Remember the safe injecting rooms for heroin addicts they agreed to establish in St Vincent's Sydney as part of their philosophy of care and Catholic teaching?
Once more, women before their time.

Opinion

Why are we so fascinated with any historical artifact — relics, as some call them — associated with Jesus? Even the most suspect claim of a “lost” gospel or an “explosive” archaeological find that purports to shed light on the man from Galilee can generate a media frenzy, and gives believers — or skeptics — Read more

The Pope on his return flight from the Philippines to Italy suggested that when western help to third world countries is only available if they accept western ideas into a culture as “ideological colonization”. Gender ideologies from the wealthy Western world are being imposed on developing nations by tying them to foreign aid and education, Read more

Features

I saw it all in my newsfeed this week: a former roommate gave birth (to twins!), a friend raised money to rebuild his home after a fire, a grad school professor started chemotherapy for lymphoma and his digital support group, “#downwithlumpy,” went viral. I liked, donated, tweeted, commented and prayed over those updates. I witnessed Read more

It was feared he would become a sort of shadow pope. Instead he has opted to see out what remains of his life in the shadows. Two years after becoming the first leader of the Catholic Church to resign in seven centuries, Benedict XVI has melted away from public view, even if he remains a Read more